Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-07-12
THE "yOWS OF LUDWIG"
Tragic Ending of u strange WA.
MIA Of Ravariam Mafdenss

MIA Of Bavarian NIaidens.
A curious feminine mania is called
10 mind by the recent tragic news from
Munich. Two young ladies OF that
city-baronesses--h commltteu SUI
Scide by drowning in the Starnberg
lake. at the very spot where the MAD
King Louis drowned himself last year.
The nanaes of these ladies are familiar
fo all who have been admitted to the
hest Munich society. They were sis
fers. AGED twenty-three and twenty
six and were famed for their beauty:
Their family is a very noble ana
wealthy one. The mania to which
they fell victims had its origin h1teen
or si;xteen wears ago. The young King
was then at the height q his romantic
fame. Ibis ideally handsome likeness
was to be seen everywhere, and every
where YOU heard talk of his poetic
melancholy, his romantic spirit, and
his confirmed celibacy. Naturally he
became an object of intense interest to
sentimental young ladies.
A SILLY TALE.
Presently, among the other absurd
tales that were told of him; there went
abroad the story that he spent most OF
his time in wandering about his king
dom in disguise. He haunted shady
lanes and romantic spots, seeking tor
some fair maiden who should be his
chosen bride. Well, the silly tale was
believed and set thousands OF hearts
to fiuttering. Each maiden wondered
If she would be his choice II he
chanced to meet her under the lime
trees. And she hesitated to plight her
troth to her village lover until she
should have had chance to meet the
king. -
SO it came to pass that in the village
of Bertoldshofen, in the romantic
mountain region of southern
Bavaria, the maidens formed
themselves into sort OF sister
hood. They pledged themselves to
each other not to marry until they
were sure the King had passed them
by. Each was to wear his likeness
constantly near her bosom, and each
was to choose for herself a secret bow
er where at eventide she should await
his coming. A more silly scheme,
probably never was devised by the
silly brains of love sick school girls.
But more than a score of BerthOlds-
hofen maidens entered into it with the
zeal and devotion of nuns. The fame
of this sisterhood spread to other vii
lagos, to towns and cities-nay, to
Munich itself. Rustic wenches and
the petted beauties OF princely palaces
alike caught the mad disease. With
in a year not less than 10000 young
women all through Bavaria, had taken
upon themselves the vows OF Lud-
wig and were waiting for their king.
FREED FROM THEIR VOWS
In time many of these girls imagined
thev had been seen and passed by by
the king, and, thus freed from their
VOWS, accepted humber husbands.
Others grew tired of waiting and broke
their VOWS. Still others waited and
waited in vain, until all other sultors
had passed them by; and they are
waiting still and will be waiting all
their lives. But as the ranks OF the
original sisterhoods were thinned new
recruits were added, and the brides
Of Ludwig were still counted by
thousands. 1t is estimated that there
were no less than 1000 of them at the
time of his suicide. When the news
of that tragedy became known they
forthwith put on morning and called
themselves ::'the widows OF Ludwig. y
MANY of them took solemn VOWS OF
life long celibacy, as token OF faith
fitness to his memory.
Among these latter, two OF the
most devoted were the young baron
esses of Munich to whom we have re-
ferred. They constantly wore the
deepest mourning, secluded them,
selves from all social pleasures and
drove themselves into confirmed mel
ancholy. Every week they went to
Starnberg and threw garlands OF flow
ers into the water at the very spot
where the king was drowned. Final
ly they determined to share his fate.
they arrayed themselves as brides,
even to donning wells and orange
blossoms, rowed out into the lake to
the spot where he was drowned, and
threw themselves into the water.
Their bodies were found next day,
claspad in each others arms, and with
portraits of the mad king next their
hearts.-[Paris Correspondence Chi
rago Trihune